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Warcraft universe physics
This article looks at the general physics evident in the Warcraft games. Some of the examples can be traced to gameplay restrictions, and the info given here should not be taken as the exact workings of the Warcraft Universe. Units of Measure * Distance is measured in yards or meters. This is exemplified by the range of player's abilities. In WoW, yards and meters are equivalent measurements for gameplay reasons. The enUS and enGB clients use yards, whereas deDE and frFR use meters. * Weight is known to be measured in pounds and kilograms. This is exemplified by the names of fishes. * Time is known to be measured in minutes. Nori Pridedrift in Quest:Scalding Mornbrew Delivery tells the player a time frame in minutes. This may be a translation of whatever measurement system the cultures of Warcraft use into one we are familiar with. Light ]] Like in real life, visible light travel at spontaneous velocity. Light from the sun or candles instantaneously light up what they hit. This form of light has not been known to move slow enough for one to observe its movement. This light follows the Inverse-Square Law meaning the intensity of light is inversely proportional to the distance from its source. Besides visible light, there also exists holy light in Warcraft universe. They are magical in nature. Although they travel at high speed, one may observe its movement when spells such as Holy Light or Flash of Light are casted. Force Conservation of momentum does not always apply. When a large object collides a smaller object, the smaller object can remain relatively stationary. Some magical beings can move without the need to push on something. Land creatures move by having the world push on their feet and their feet push on the world. Air creatures move by having the air push on their wings and the wings push on the air. Floating beings such as Liches move by magic or soul substance pushing on the air. Titans can move without pushing on anything because the Great Dark is empty. Gravity Generally, in the Warcraft Universe larger creatures such as Dragons have less weight than for their size than smaller creatures. This allows them to move as easily as a smaller creature would. In the Warcraft Universe, creatures with wings such as dragons can fly even though their massive weight would not allow it. In Outland, there are rock chunks which float above the ground which generate their own unilateral gravitational field. A being who is above them feels the gravity below them, but below the rock chunks there is no gravity pulling beings up. Since these have been only seen in Outland, it is hypothesized that there are different physics at work in different parts of the universe. Magic can change gravity. The Blood Elves have a city which defies gravitational forces which would send it crashing to the planet's surface presumably through the Blood Elves' magic. Matter There are at least three states of matter: gas, liquid, and solid. Matter can be transformed into other types of matter. Alchemists have the ability to change one type of matter into another type of matter. Liquids exhibit the property of viscosity. Viscous liquids would form droplets when falling through air. Air will form bubbles when ascending through a liquid. However, water does not have sufficient surface tension to kill a person falling into it at high speed. The buoyancy and cloud formations support the existence of water and air pressure. However, inhabitants of Azeroth are able to descend great ocean depth without being crushed by water pressure. Time In the Warcraft Universe, beings can travel forward or backwards through time and have the ability to change history sometimes. In the Burning Crusade, beings can travel through time to battle Archimonde but their deeds will not affect later outcomes in history. Time is also faked in some areas, such as ships across continents, which seemingly take seconds during loading times, but would require going at an unheard of speed to get there in reality. The Twisting Nether has been theorized to lack time. The Twisting Nether is a dimension used in the spells Astral Recall and Ritual of Summoning which seems to instantaneously send its occupant to another place. It could also be possible that the Twisting Nether sends its occupants at a speed so fast that it only seems instantaneous. The Twisting Nether could also have a separate set of time. Travel in the Twisting Nether could be instantaneous because time in this dimension does not equate to time in the universe, causing time to freeze for all occupants in the universe in relation to occupants in the Twisting Nether and vice versa. History could be predetermined. It can be predetermined divinely (through some god or high power) or logically. If a powerful being influences the course of events according to a plan, history is predetermined divinely. However, assuming there is no extra-universal influence on the universe and a given cause and effect is always the same or always predictable, history can be predetermined logically. Prophets such as Medivh can sense future events. If he saw the exact events, or predicted events through logical means, history could be predetermined. If he could only sense an unclear danger, history might not be predetermined. Dimensions All known dimensions have three physical dimensions. In no known dimension do its inhabitants flatten out (2D) or become lines (1D). Some dimensions are planar. The Elemental Planes are not spherical like Azeroth or Outland. They are planar, stretching out to unknown lengths. It is not known how far these planar dimensions extend up or down. Traveling too far up or down in these planar dimensions could theoretically send the traveler into another Elemental Plane because the dimensions are three tiered. Although most dimensions have time which corresponds to all other dimensions, some may not. The Twisting Nether could be a dimension without time (see time section). Souls Bodies are moved by souls or magical means. Upon death, beings turn into a soul which is a mirror image version of themselves made up of soul substance. It is not known whether this image is a personal projection or the actual form of the soul. These souls can inhabit different bodies and control it. For example, Sargeras co-inhabited Medivh's body with Medivh's soul and both fought for control of his body. These souls probably cause beings to move (or infuse the being with the will to move) because without them beings have not been seen to move unless they move by magical means such as golems. Night elves have different souls. Night elf souls look like a cloud sphere unlike regular souls. Again, this may be a personal projection, as other beings see night elf souls as slightly transparent versions of their living form. Their souls also move faster for unknown reasons. Souls cannot interact with the world in most cases, but the world can interact with souls. Souls cannot move through objects, but they can walk on water. Like physical beings, souls can be trapped (see: Malfurion in The Well of Eternity). Souls are different from ghosts who can have a profound impact on the world. The difference between souls and ghosts is not known. Category:Worlds